The team leader of Team B, which included Lee Tae-rim, quickly contacted Team A.
“This is Team B. Team A, is everyone safe?”
[This is Team A. Team Leader Park was caught in the explosion and is seriously injured. Sending our location now.]
Team B rushed to their coordinates. The scene that greeted them was a wreck. A massive crater had formed, likely from an underground explosion, and piles of debris were scattered across the area.
Esper Park Cheol-min had shielded a Guide and failed to dodge in time—he’d taken a direct hit to the back from falling rocks. A healing-type Esper from Team B immediately moved to treat him.
“Team Leader, what are your orders? I think we should request reinforcements and hold position.”
The adrenaline was pumping hard—his thoughts racing. If this explosion was the result of K going berserk, everyone here was as good as dead. No casualties yet meant it might not be that incident, but Lee Tae-rim couldn’t shake the dread. They say speaking of the devil calls him forth, and thinking about it right before the explosion? Classic setup.
“T-Team Leader…”
And right on cue, a massive wave of energy burst out from the gaping hole in the ground like another explosion. A second blast could be coming any moment. The force was staggering—it prickled the skin just standing there. This wasn’t just an accident. It was a full-blown Esper rampage. No doubt about it.
Even if they tried to escape, there was no telling whether they’d actually make it out. Without a teleportation-type Esper, running wasn’t an option. The destruction looked like it had flipped the entire underground upside down. There was no solid ground left to absorb any more impact.
Park Cheol-min clenched his jaw.
“Everyone, fall back. Get as far away from here as possible.”
“Yes, sir!”
“W-Wait!”
Tae-rim shoved aside the Esper trying to lift him and shouted. Park Cheol-min turned, eyes narrowed in disbelief.
“Wouldn’t it be better if I went instead?”
“What?”
“If we run now, I don’t think our chances of survival are any good. So instead—why not try calming the rampage with Guiding? I’ve at least learned the basics of guiding a rampaging Esper.”
“Guide Lee, this is no joke.”
“I’m not joking either. I don’t want to die.”
Park Cheol-min hesitated. He clearly thought the idea was ridiculous, but the energy around them was growing stronger by the second. At this rate, the entire area was going to get wiped out. He raked a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh.
“Fine. I’ll go with Guide Lee. Everyone else, move back as far as you can.”
“Team Leader!”
“We might as well try everything we’ve got.”
“Then I’ll go too!”
“Me as well!”
“No. If we all rush in, we might agitate the Esper even more. It’s just me and Guide Lee. The rest of you—get out of here, now!”
Before anyone could argue, Park Cheol-min swept Tae-rim into his arms and charged into the crater.
“Let’s hope this isn’t all for nothing.”
He sprinted straight into the heart of the rampage, where the waves of power were strongest. Inside, it was utter devastation. The facility had been blown apart, everything engulfed in flames. Surrounded by a protective barrier, Park Cheol-min pushed forward through the fire.
As they neared the center, breathing became more difficult.
Tae-rim felt like his entire body was being torn apart. The energy was screaming—Somebody, please save me! That’s what it felt like. The rampaging power was savage, violent enough to rip him to shreds—but to Tae-rim, it sounded like a desperate cry for help.
“There. He’s over there.”
The man sat alone in the fire. Curled into a ball, he clutched his head like he was trying to shield himself from the world.
“From here on, I’ll go alone. He might perceive another Esper’s energy as a threat.”
“Understood.”
Let’s just get this over with, Tae-rim thought as he quickened his pace toward the man. Energy waves lashed at him like blades, slicing shallow cuts across his body. As he got closer, he began to release his guiding energy. The man flinched. It was subtle, but it was a reaction—a good sign.
Tae-rim gradually increased the energy output, closing the distance. The man stayed still, still hunched in on himself.
But just as Tae-rim got close enough to touch, the man finally looked up. His face was streaked with tears, contorted in pain.
“I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m a Guide! I’m here to help—to take away the pain!”
But the man’s eyes were hollow, like he couldn’t hear a thing—just waiting for the suffering to end.
Tae-rim steeled himself. No choice. He lunged forward, grabbed the man’s arm, and pulled him into a tight hug, unleashing every last drop of guiding energy he had.
The man stiffened, startled by the sudden contact, but quickly froze—stunned by the energy that wrapped around his chaotic waves. His instincts kicked in. He knew, without question, that the person holding him was his only lifeline. He threw his arms around Tae-rim in return—tightly, desperately.
But it wasn’t enough. The rampage hadn’t fully subsided.
Tae-rim kept telling himself he had no choice. This was a rescue mission. A rescue mission. Repeating it like a mantra, he grabbed the man’s face and pressed their lips together.
He knew it wouldn’t be enough. Still—this is my first kiss, dammit! The unfairness hit him for a moment, but he quickly pushed it aside. This isn’t a kiss. It’s part of the rescue. That’s all.
He slipped his tongue into the man’s slightly parted lips.
The man jerked in surprise—but then began to kiss him back, desperately. Like a drowning man clinging to air, he latched onto Tae-rim with raw instinct, kissing him deeply, breathlessly. He drank in the guiding energy pouring from Tae-rim as though it were his only chance at survival.
Tae-rim was reeling. He’d known the grip would be strong, but this was beyond anything he’d imagined. The man clutched him so tightly it hurt.
He tried hitting the man’s back, but it was no use. The man only bit and sucked on his lips more fiercely, as if afraid to let go.
“Mmgh—s-stop—mmph…”
He’d thought he could just breathe through his nose, but the kiss was too intense—he couldn’t even get enough air. And every time he tried to hold back on the energy output to catch a break, the man would squeeze tighter, like he was wringing Tae-rim dry.
He had no choice but to keep pushing out energy with everything he had.
Just when he started to wonder if this was the end—if he might actually die—the man suddenly collapsed away from him, like a marionette with its strings cut.
Flushed and gasping, Tae-rim tried to focus on the figure shaking him.
“Are you all right, Guide?”
It was a face he didn’t recognize. Struggling to breathe, Tae-rim blinked and looked around. Shapes gradually came into focus—firefighters putting out the flames, Espers moving in.
“The rampage seemed to calm enough that we were able to sedate him. Can you stand? If not, I’ll help you.”
Nearby, the Esper—presumably K—was wrapped tightly in a blanket, slung over another Esper’s shoulder like cargo.
With support, Tae-rim staggered to his feet.
“I don’t think I can walk. My legs won’t hold me.”
“Understood. Let me carry you.”
Tae-rim was lifted onto the Esper’s back. Completely drained, he leaned against him and closed his eyes.
Sleep hit him like a tidal wave. He couldn’t fight it anymore.
***
He opened his eyes—and found himself in a hospital. Again.
Lee Tae-rim wrinkled his nose at the sharp, sterile scent of disinfectant that always seemed to cling to hospitals. The memory came rushing back: rescuing the Esper presumed to be K, passing out the moment he was slung over someone’s back.
His entire body felt limp, as if all strength had been drained from him, and his head throbbed with a persistent ache. He reached for the nurse call button and pressed it.
Before long, a doctor and nurse came rushing in. When they asked if he was in any pain, Tae-rim pressed a hand to his forehead and asked for something for the headache.
“You really pushed yourself too far. It could’ve gotten dangerous.”
As if she’d already anticipated the diagnosis, the nurse handed him some painkillers and a glass of water—side effects from excessive Guiding, clearly. Tae-rim sat up slowly and took the medication.
“But you did good,” the doctor added. “If it hadn’t been for you, Guide Lee, that Esper wouldn’t have survived the second rampage.”
Tae-rim, still holding his aching head, looked up at that. Would’ve died during the second rampage? Then… was it not K after all?
“And if that rampage had continued, the entire area would’ve been reduced to rubble.”
The doctor finished the check-up, ran a few more quick assessments, and then left with a reminder to get plenty of rest.
Tae-rim flopped back onto the bed.
Whether the Esper he saved was K or not didn’t matter now. What mattered was that no lives had been lost.
Though… his first kiss…
No. No, that didn’t count. That was a rescue operation. Strictly professional. It absolutely, positively was not a kiss.
Still, for someone like Lee Tae-rim—who’d always imagined his first kiss would be something special, something romantic—he couldn’t help but stubbornly deny what had happened.
